To think levying additional charges on SUV owners in London is a bad idea?

[FirmNavyCat]

Saw this article in the Guardian yesterday and it's been prominent in my mind since I read it. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/13/suv-drivers-could-face-extra-charges-for-driving-in-london

Sadiq Khan is talking about levying further charges to SUV drivers due to the evidence that they pose a significantly increased risk of fatal injury to pedestrians in collisions, particularly children. While on the face of it this seems like a noble cause, my belief is that policymakers should be focused on beefing up existing laws. Speed limits should be reduced on roads that have the highest number of fatalities, and drivers who cause injury or death should face tougher sentencing by the courts. I know SUVs are popular on MN (and are popular with mums in urban areas generally). They feel so much safer to drive compared to smaller cars. Also, should the worst happen and you are involved in a collision, I would very strongly prefer to be in an SUV than a smaller car. I'd want my loved ones to be in an SUV as well if I had to choose.

I think this is a great idea and would love to see it implemented here. It could be charged like EZ Pass.

This is his reasoning

No one needs an SUV in London.

Oh - also on website? I couldn’t :(

Oh, sorry, I am on my phone and I’ve changed my vote on several occasions.

Anyway, it’s a landslide and you know you are on the winning side.

Brilliant idea. Let's roll it out everywhere else too. Unless you tow a horsebox or live up a mountain no one needs these cars. And if you do need one then the extra cost will just be something you have to put up with.

Can we call it the wankpanzer tax?

I live rurally, I have a job in 'the rural economy' I drive a hatch back. Many SUV drivers around here drive down the middle of the lanes, they often have several feet of road between them and the edge while they hoot and gesture at me to get out of the way. They know who will come of worse if I don't take to the hedge/ditch to let them past so they just drive at me and expect I'll get out the way. I've lost two wing mirrors when I have been right at the edge of the road/half way in the hedge and the on coming SUV driver has several feet of road to spare but they hit me rather than shift over (one didn't even bother to stop).

Of course they will tell you they 'need' an off road vehicle but they never actually get the tyres muddy unlike those who do actually take their vehicles off road which tend to be ancient landys rather than massive modern SUV. They block views at junctions and for people trying to cross the road but will drone on about safety to justify their lifestyle choice. The sooner they are taxed off the road the better.

They take up a disproportionate amount of room and are completely unnecessary in cities. Good for Sadiq

Excellent idea, I firmly support this.

over half of London is subject to 20mph limits

Pedestrian fatalities are highly dependent on speed. At speeds below 20 mph, accidents often result in minor injuries regardless of vehicle type

No-one "needs" an SUV @glitterpaperchain in London or any where else for that matter, but when we start to "enforce" non-sensical restrictions under the pretext of "safety" because it may be seen as a vote winner, it should give pause for thought.

I do think it's incumbent upon us, the "proles", to actually reflect on what our politicians are advocating and their "actual" reasoning behind it.

It, very rarely, is from an altruistic perspective

I think he should go further and just ban them all 😆Few people need these big cars. They take up so much space on the road, in car parks etc and mostly people in them are bad drivers who think they have right of way.

Accidently voted YANBU when YABU. I wish this could be extended to the whole country. They are so anti social. It's always them parking on double yellows on my way to school and they are so huge it makes it extra hard to be able to see to cross the road safely. They just don't give a fuck about anyone else.

Down with the SUVs 🥳🥳

I agree with this. We have a Fiesta and a pickup (for actual commercial purposes, not as a status symbol!). I am generally a very safe driver, but when I drive the pickup, I realise I feel able to take slightly more risks than when I drive the Fiesta. It feels much safer for me. All my driving is rural fast roads, so pedestrians aren't at risk from me, but I imagine the same applies to urban drivers in SUVs subconsciously, even if they're unaware of it.

However, I don't think SUVs and pickups should be taxed extra, I think they should be banned on the basis of risk to pedestrians. Exceptions for those with genuine demonstrable purposes such as crofting, regular offroading for work, etc etc. They don't do anything that estate cars don't do so there is no reason for your average civilian to have one when they are more dangerous.

Good god, Khan's come up with a sensible policy? The world really is going all topsy-turvy. Though of course, like all his initiatives, the rich will be able to pay some tiny (to them) amount and carry on as usual.

What will happen:

1. Lots of people outside of London plus the Daily Mail plus Nigel Farage will get in a flap about it,

1. They'll call Sadiq Khan an anti-democratic communist nutjob,

1. They'll rile each other up into thinking they're in the vanguard of a 'common sense revolution', the 'proof' for which is a few YouTube videos made by, for and featuring morons,

1. It'll turn out that people that actually live in London are quite keen on the idea, and if Sadiq Khan stands for mayor again he'll be voted in again.

Basically it'll be ULEZ and those 'blade runner' cretins all over again. I don't mind SUVs but evidence is evidence so I think this is a good policy.

I agree on the policy about SUV but not so much on 20mph. Sure inner London but it really the outer boroughs should remain 30mph. Particularly south london where we arent blessed with the tube network and all 20mph does is increase journey times even more, build a more connected tube network down south and ill be all for 20mph but right now no.

"SUVs are 14% more likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists than other passenger cars if there is a collision, and 77% more likely to kill children."

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/large-suvs-more-dangerous-to-pedestrians-london-may-consider-new-charges/322754

You don't think anything should be done about this?

I live in a very rural area, regularly drive down track roads, drove roads, through tractor mud, etc. I have a mini. Nobody needs an SUV unless they are farming and driving off road.

Agree with this! I'm from the rural northwest Highlands and regularly drive down tracks, off-road, and in snow, and my Fiesta handles it all no bother.

Excellent plan. Tax the SUVs more. They are awful for pedestrian safety and take up too much space.

No one ever needs an SUV in a city. Anyone who choses to have one in London is a wanker.

We own an SUV (took it over from a relative, not our choice) and drive it into London regularly, but we still agree with the policy.

The streets and parking spaces just aren’t designed to fit them. When there are SUVs parked on both sides of the road it can be impossible for even normal cars to get through safely, never mind delivery vans, ambulances, etc.

They’re also so big that people can’t see past them safely, so even when they’re not directly involved in an accident they’re often a contributing factor.

They shouldn’t be in London at all, and it makes sense to make it financially harder to have them in order to encourage people to switch cars, so that at least there are fewer of them.

We were planning on trading in the SUV anyway, we’ll do it a bit sooner now to avoid this new charge, so that’s a good thing.

H, yes, this Is my everyday experience. The roads from my village are not quite wide enough for a car and a big SUV, and I’m sick of spotless, clearly never been off-road monstrosities trying to force my tiny Mazda onto the verges. I have taken to stopping at the edge of the road and smiling vacantly at the drivers as they realise they have to - eeek - get some mud on their tyres or drive into me.

The figures suggest that you are more likely to die in a SUV in a Road Traffic Collision than a normal car due to the SUV being more likely to roll over